


Hearts Like Spirals

by NancyBrown



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Future Character Death, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-07 13:02:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13435278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NancyBrown/pseuds/NancyBrown
Summary: Jack loops back to see Ianto. A lot.





	Hearts Like Spirals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [engmaresh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/engmaresh/gifts).



> Contains spoilers for "Broken"

Ianto hadn't spent much time here in his local, not since everything went to shit with Mandy. It had been over a year since she'd fled town. Tonight, Jack was in London meeting with UNIT, and Ianto's steps found him walking into the Ferret. The new barmaid didn't look like she'd sell her customers into intergalactic slavery, but who could tell these days? He ordered a whisky, and only nodded vaguely when she tried to make conversation.

He felt the warmth first, someone standing too closely behind him. He tensed only long enough to get a sudden breath, and a familiar scent enveloped him. He'd tasted Jack's skin in the wee hours of the night, and first thing in the morning. That smell, like deep-oiled leather and old amber and the good sweat you worked up during fantastic sex, filled his world with promise. Without looking, a smile came to his lips. He took another drink. "You're back early."

"Am I?" The words growled into Ianto's hair. His eyes went to the barmaid, who gave them barely a look before making her way to another customer.

"Yes. I had plans, you know. Night on the town. A torrid affair with the nearest warm body, plenty of snaps to show you later of course."

"Of course." Jack's hands touched Ianto's hips. "Can we go somewhere?"

Ianto turned, ready to keep the playful tone. Everything was wrong. This was Jack, unmistakeably so: same face, same overpowering, intoxicating presence, same eyes. This wasn't Jack: the face had lines in it, impossible as the thought might be, and his presence was wired with a strange, desperate energy, and his eyes held a million sorrows even the Jack Ianto knew never had.

"Yes," Ianto said, cold sober within a second. "I think that would be a good idea." He dropped extra notes for the barmaid, and almost pushed Jack out the door into the wet night. As soon as they were outside, he asked, "How far in the future are you from?"

Jack let out a sad laugh. "It's the face, isn't it? I'm actually getting older, can you believe it?"

He hadn't answered the question. Ianto had already been sure he wouldn't. "Why are you here?"

"To see you." The words tried to come out as a joke, but ended with a despairing sigh.

Ianto took this information in as well as he could. This Jack had come when his Jack was out of town. This Jack was broken in ways written all over his features, and Ianto remembered too well how broken he'd been himself the last time they'd been in the Ferret together. That said grief, and he was here with Ianto tonight.

Ianto had always known Torchwood would kill him one day. He'd known for some time now that Jack had no option but to outlive him. Seeing the evidence of that before him was not as big of a shock as it might have been. Dating an immortal time-traveler meant abandoning a lot of his previously held assumptions, such as what "for the rest of our lives" meant, or for that matter, what "yesterday" meant.

There was no point in asking details. Ianto didn't want to know, and Jack wouldn't tell him. All he had to know was that his boyfriend had missed him. "You're seeing me now," he said, and he used the same playful tone as before. "If you'd like, I could do a little dance, though I warn you, Lisa used to tell me I look like a prat when I try."

Jack cracked a smile. "Maybe later. I do miss dancing with you."

They hadn't danced together yet. Ianto hadn't considered that they would. He took Jack's hand. "I'll assume that's not what you really miss."

Jack squeezed his hand. "I didn't come back here just to have sex. I wanted to see you, really see you."

"But the sex could be fun," Ianto said. Hell, how often would he ever have the chance to sleep with someone who had even more experience than his Jack?

Jack tilted his head. "Are you sure?"

"If you'll remember," and there was a chance he didn't although the odds were good Jack knew where to find him tonight because he did remember, "my place is right around the corner."

"I remember."

They did make it through the door of the flat. They didn't make it into the bedroom. Whatever this Jack's intentions had been coming here, they were quickly overridden by, there was no better way to put it, coming. After, he wanted to kiss, quite a lot more than his Jack usually did. Ianto wanted to nod off, and he knew as soon as he did, this would be over. Whatever heart's ease this Jack was finding in his arms would only last one night.

He pulled himself away from Jack's kisses after a long time. "What's wrong?" Jack asked, rolling to watch him.

"Nothing. I'm going to put on some coffee to help keep me up. Then we can go again." He winked.

***

He got into work a little late the next day. He'd awakened alone, no surprise there, and let himself consider the events of the night before. Future Jack. Lonely. Not necessarily wanting sex but glad to express himself that way. Clearly mourning Ianto. Well. It was nice to know he'd eventually make an impact on Jack's heart. His Jack couldn't be arsed to call in from London for some phone sex.

"You okay?" Tosh asked him when she rolled in half an hour after him. "You look dead tired."

"Late night. Up reading. You know." He'd checked himself thoroughly in the mirror as he'd dressed this morning, looking for any marks. Tosh's quick gaze found nothing, but her expression said she didn't quite believe him.

***

Without any imminent threats to the safety of the planet, Wales, or South Glamorgan, the team finished up work by six and left for their various pursuits. Gwen had a wedding to plan. Owen had someone to meet, even if the unlucky girl didn't know it yet, and Toshiko said she was working on cracking that Auret code at home.

Ianto didn't bother telling them his plans. He hadn't slept more than two hours last night, thanks to his visitor, and he intended to get some shuteye.

He got all the way to the door of his flat.

Jack's hair had gone grey. He looked like someone's rather handsome grandfather, though Ianto couldn't figure out why that thought made him shiver uncomfortably.

"Hello," Ianto said, a lump in his throat. "Back early, then?"

"Not exactly."

"Best come inside," he said, and opened the door. Jack followed him, blinking around him in unfamiliarity. He didn't remember this place. Ianto asked, "Did you look up the address?"

"In the records. Yeah. My memory isn't perfect."

"Whose is?"

They stood there in the half-gloom watching each other. Without the light on, Ianto could believe this was his Jack, just a bit worn out from his trip, or from a fight with a Weevil. He didn't know what Jack saw, what he was remembering.

"How long has it been?" Ianto asked him. "It's got to be centuries at least."

Jack nodded. "Try three thousand years."

"Seriously?" Ianto's hands, half-caught in taking off his own coat, went numb with a weird shock. Jack was three thousand years old, or maybe it had been three thousand since the last visit. It didn't matter. Ianto was well dead, and before this moment, he would have assumed Jack would have forgotten him.

"Seriously. I miss you." Just like last night, the words gave away more than even Jack knew. Three thousand years and he hadn't forgotten Ianto at all, and instead still missed him.

His coat placed carefully on the rack, Ianto reached for Jack's current coat, not as nice as the one he wore these days, and he hung it up, hands absently smoothing the creases. Then he stepped closer to Jack, and grabbed his neck, and dragged him in for a deep kiss.

He reminded himself to put the coffee on. It looked like he wasn't getting any sleep tonight, either.

***

The third Jack was much older, and strange. He waited on the Plass. The others didn't recognize him, not with his hair white, not with his face thin. Ianto knew his eyes, and he made his excuse to leave early.

"You have got to stop this," he said, as soon as they'd left sight of the Hub's CCTV. "It's getting weird."

"Hello to you, too," Jack said, with every ounce of his old humor. "I was just … " He stopped. "I missed you."

Ianto bit back his sarcastic "I know" and asked instead, "How long has it been?"

"That's a great question. I'm not sure. I've spent a lot of the last thousand years out of order. Time travel is not for the weak." He cracked a grin. His face was old but his teeth were still perfect, and for all the years of sorrow Ianto saw on his brow, he also read a measure of acceptance. This Jack hadn't come out of loss and grief. This Jack was here to say goodbye once more.

"Let's get dinner," Ianto said.

"It's mid-afternoon."

"Yes, but we'll need our strength for later."

"Is that an 'old' joke, Mr. Jones?"

"It might be, Captain Harkness."

"No one has called me that in far too long."

"What name are you going by these days?"

"I like it when you call me Jack."

Ianto took his hand. "Come on, then, Jack. I'll buy you dinner."

When they made it back to Ianto's flat, he put the coffee on first.

***

The fourth one waited for him in Jack's office the next morning. His eyes were wild, and he could barely look at Ianto as he sat awkwardly at the desk that wasn't his.

"I got back early," he lied. "From that UNIT meeting." His face twitched as muscles responded to stimuli Ianto could only imagine, horrors too fresh for Jack to say. He was so young, Ianto saw, compared to the others. This one didn't look much older than his Jack.

Ianto approached him as he might an animal, crouching to meet his eyes. "How long has it been for you?"

Jack shook his head. "I was in London."

"I'm not dead right now."

Jack took a ragged breath, the same as he did when he dragged himself back to life over and over. "I know."

Ianto took his hand. "Let's go downstairs. I'll tell the others not to come in today, or you can." His free hand stroked Jack's face. "I know you don't want to hear this now, but you're going to survive what's happened. You're going to recover." 

"I don't think so."

Ianto stood.

Jack asked, a bit fearfully, "Where are you going?"

"Putting the coffee on. I'm going to need it."

***

The fifth Jack bounded into the Hub. "Hi, kids, I'm back early!" This one couldn't have been much older than yesterday's Jack.

Ianto glowered at him. "Is this a good idea?"

"What?" Jack blinked at him.

"Coming in here like this? What if you can't fool them?"

"Fool who?"

They stared at each other. Ianto took in the details. That was Jack's coat. That was Jack's slowly-growing annoyed face. This was someone who had no idea what he was talking about.

"Fool them into thinking you're back early when you're really here to drag us all to London." It was a terrible excuse but Ianto was too nonplussed to come up with a better one. "I know, of course. What is it then, giant alien squirrels terrorising Whitehall?"

Jack folded his arms. "Giant squirrels? We don't get those in this part of the galaxy. Did I miss a memo?"

"No, just glad to have you back, sir."

Jack grinned. "We're back to 'sir,' are we? I admit I like it, but I like it more when you call me Jack. I was thinking if the day isn't busy, maybe we could go back to yours for a change?" He added an extra twinkle with his smile. "I haven't seen you in days. You may want to put the coffee on because I'm not sure either of us are getting any sleep tonight."

Ianto managed a smile and not to yawn as he said, "Sounds great!"

The End


End file.
